


In the Absence of Knowledge

by Anonymous



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Don't ask me when this is set because I don't know, Fluff, Gen, Oooh Erwin is in trouubblee, Parental Hange Zoë, Parental Levi Ackerman, Protective Levi Ackerman, Smart Armin Arlert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 00:07:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29974368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Writing this because there isn't enough wholesome dad Levi.Slight AU where Erwin and Hange lowered to recruitment age from 16 to 12 behind Levi's back after the attack on Shiganshina. Five years later, Levi finds out.Mostly an excuse to write fluff and highlight the talents of our precious cadets. Sporadic updates
Relationships: Levi Ackerman & 104th Training Corps, Levi Ackerman & Erwin Smith, Levi Ackerman & Hange Zoë
Kudos: 39
Collections: Anonymous





	1. Chapter 1

Holidays had never mattered much to Levi. The only people in the Underground to even acknowledge Yuletide were drug lords and faces, who typically chose to celebrate by using parties and sex traffic victims to expand their political territory. Levi had distanced himself accordingly; especially as he got older, political functions were not needed to grow his reputation. There were other holidays, Levi was sure, but Yuletide took place on his birthday, so it was the only one that bothered to stick in his memory.

Levi cared for birthdays least of all. Being alive was hardly something to celebrate, growing up. For the longest time, he’d envied children weaker than him. It took years for Levi to understand the value in being difficult to kill, and only then was he able to appreciate a sliver of the value behind birthday celebrations. While silly and a waste of resources, they represented progress, and in the case of the Survey Corps, they tended to boost the morale of cadets and squad leaders alike. For this reason, Levi was surprised when Erwin inexplicably began discouraging birthday celebrations five years ago. Hange had emphatically protested the decision, and Levi couldn’t help but raise a brow as well. Erwin had seemed to appreciate the celebrations as much as anyone. Why the change in heart? A look from the commander that was slightly harsher than usual and a brief comment about a clear surge of titan activity was enough to satisfy Levi; Erwin was all correct, after all. The loss of Wall Rose was certainly enough to keep them busy. Resources like wheat and sugar were twice as scarce and simple birthday parties were hardly sufficient to repair the blows to morale dealt by the latest invasion. For now, the best thing was to stay focused. And so birthday celebrations were set aside for the next five years.

Levi felt imbecilic to be surprised when the brats of the One-Hundred and Fourth blatantly disregarded this policy.

Hoover was being corralled onto a bench by Reiner and Leonheart, with the rest of the brats flitting around. “Guys, I-I really don’t know about this. It’s not even that big a deal. Erwin–”

“It’ll be fine, Bertholdt,” Mikasa cut in quietly. “He won’t find out. It isn’t as if our superiors gossip about us in our free time.”

Next to Levi, Hange snorted into her soup. Levi was tempted to roll his eyes. He certainly wouldn’t refer to their before-bed chatter as _gossip_. Even if it did often regard the cadets.

“And even if he does find out,” Mikasa continued smoothly, “What is he going to do?

“Punish us for stealing rations?” Hoover suggested. “Extra cleaning duty for letting Jean and Connie into the kitchen? You _know_ they’re both banned from cooking and yet y–”

“Geez whiz,” Eren grumbled, throwing a glance at Kirstein. “To think I call _you_ a stick in the mud. Look, Bertholdt.”

Eren swung a leg over the bench and straddled it facing Hoover. “If you’re that worried about it, let’s set up a contingency plan. If Erwin finds out and interrogates us, then we’ll just say it was Armin’s idea.”

The blond melon head, hovering over a mess of sweetbread and frosting a few meters away, perked up upon hearing his name. He took a few seconds to process the last few sentences of conversation and glared at Eren indignantly. “Hey! Why do I get all the blame?”

“Because you’re his favorite!” Kirstein waved it off. “And Connie and I didn’t even set anything on fire this time. It’ll just look like you made a calculated risk that paid off, which… Actually, that isn’t even a lie. See? No harm done.”

Levi switched his attention to Arlert, who was being joined by Krista. 

“It looks great, Armin,” the small girl insisted. “He’ll love it. And we already know it tastes good, so you have nothing to fear!”

Arlert returned Krista with grateful smile. “Thank you. I don’t know what I’m so nervous for.” Levi narrowed his eyes. His squad members getting worked up over something as simple as cake was dissatisfying, to say the least. And why the hell were they celebrating Hoover’s birthday, of all things? This wasn’t the first time Erwin had been away. And Levi knew for a fact that some of the cadets had had birthdays in the past months. Why celebrate now?

“Oi,” Levi grumbled. All the bustling in the mess hall came to a standstill. “Hoover.”

Hoover shot to his feet. “Yes, sir.”

“You’re a grown-ass man. Do you really need a birthday party?”

Whatever reaction Levi had expected, this wasn’t it. He didn’t _want_ this reaction. He only felt a vague sense of wrongness as Hoover’s face flushed and fell, near-imperceptibly.

“I...Yes, sir. I mean no, sir. I agree with you, sir.” Hoover turned to his comrades––his _friends_ . “I _told_ you guys this was a bad idea.” The sense of wrongness continued to stir in Levi’s stomach as uncertainty played across the faces of Arlert and Blouse. Even Eren and Kirstein looked a bit uncomfortable. But it was Cadet Fritz, quiet in the background, who rescued the situation.

“Who cares? You’re turning 17 and you probably won’t live to see 18. Enjoy yourself. You’re not even technically an adult. None of that shit applies to you.”

Kirstein cracked a smile and threw a lazy arm over Fritz’s shoulders. “Look who decided to join the party! Never thought you’d be the one to lighten the mood, Ymir.” Fritz scoffed and threw Kirstein off before retreating to Krista’s side. The small girl grabbed her Fritz’s forearm and seemed to give her a small congratulations.

All of that happened, but Levi was still stuck on what Fritz had said. _You’re turning 17 and you probably won’t live to see 18._

_You’re turning 17._

Levi knew it happened occasionally. Some teenager with too much heart or too little to live for pulled some strings or faked some documents and registered early. Levi himself had done the same and joined at 16, if being dragged to registration by the to-be-commander Erwin counted as joining. Though, Levi would gamble that Hoover had probably managed to sneak in on documents alone. He certainly looked old enough, unlike Levi who, like most teenagers from the Underground, barely looked two years younger than their actual age.

It made sense, however. Hoover may have looked older, but if he really was just turning 17, then it would be expected that the other cadets would feel responsible to celebrate their junior’s birthday.

Levi snorted into his stew. “Never took you to be the baby of the squad, Hoover,” he muttered. Though the comment wasn’t particularly meant to be covert, he hadn’t expected Hoover to hear, let alone respond.

“I’m hardly the baby of the group. Maybe just to Reiner.”

Levi raised a brow. Hange choked on her broth. The rest of the cadets started snickering or, in Eren and Kirstein’s case, cackling.

“You wanna clarify that a little, Bertholdt?!” Kirstein shouted, leaning some weight on Eren as his laughter weakened his core. If Hoover had been pink before, now he was beet red. Reiner was right there with him.

“I-I didn’t mean– Cadet Braun is the only one older than me. Sir.” Hoover cleared his throat.

It was a good attempt at recovery, Levi would admit, but the damage was done. He already knew Hoover would never be allowed to live this down.

Then the meaning of Hoover’s words registered.

“How old are you little shits, anyways?” Levi was smooth as ever, but at his words, Hange stiffened next to him. Good. They would be talking about this.

Hoover glanced around and realized his friends were still lost in laughter. He would have to answer, again. “I think most of them are 15. Sasha and Annie are 16.”

“Thank you, Cadet,” Levi dismissed. Hoover nodded and immediately turned to razz the others. 

Levi’s attention snapped to Hange, though his gaze made no movement but to gently slink in her direction.

“Did you know about this?”

“About what, Levi? His birthday? Not until yesterday. I don’t think they were even planning on anything until they heard Erwin was going to be gone.” Hange responded innocently. Levi’s features turned a shade stormier than was normal and the woman winced. “Okay, I knew. Erwin thought it would be best not to tell you, in case it upset you.”

“Damn right, it upsets me. How long?”

“Shiganshina.” 

Levi’s grasp on his spoon tightened. Five years. 

“We’ll discuss this more after dinner.”

Ten minutes passed, during which the mess of a cake was cut, songs were sung, and smiles were traded. Levi declined a slice of cake from Hoover––it felt too much like a peace offering––but Hange quickly took it from the boy and set it in front of Levi. He brooded at the cake as Hange shoveled away at hers.

“Something else on your mind?” she probed, words slightly garbled from the thick frosting. Levi sneered when he realized he must have been frowning more than usual. Or maybe he hadn’t; Hange had known him long enough to be able to read him, even when his mask didn’t slip.

“Why would they celebrate Hoover?” Though Hoover was certainly valued and had plenty of friends, Levi didn’t understand why he would be celebrated when unequivocally adored characters, such as Krista, were around and kicking.

Hange hummed. “It’s been awfully dark out. I think the gloom and cold is wearing them down. They needed this.”

Levi lifted his gaze and took another look around the mess hall. It was lit up with orange lanterns and flickering candles. Tissue cut-outs were clumsily pinned to the walls. Paper airplanes weaved through the air, some gliding seamlessly and others being little more than aggressively chucked from one cadet to another. Vanilla and sugar warmed the air. Eren and Kirstein brawled and Connie and Krista laughed high and loud. Even Leonhart and Fritz seemed more relaxed than usual.

Levi was forced to admit...it felt good.

“Come to my chambers once you’re finished,” Levi said quietly as he stood. “We have some things to discuss.” With that, he pushed his chair in and left from the room, unnoticed, his slice of cake still untouched.

Levi had never felt as tense as he did now. Just ten minutes of pouring over their registration files had him wishing he could kick himself in the face. How had he missed all of this? In every file, his cadets’ ages were plainly listed. Springer was the youngest, having just barely turned 15 when he was accepted into the Survey Corps at the start of July. Reiner was the oldest, his 17th birthday just months before Hoover’s.

How could he have missed this? How could he have subject these... _teenagers_...to all that he had? Levi’s childhood had been by no stretch of the imagination pleasant, and his teenage years were nothing short of a nightmare. He grew up starved of food and contact and sunlight. He had lost his virginity when he was 13 and had made his first kill long before that. The buildings he grew up knowing best were the whorehouses and crematoriums. Every turned corner in the Underground presented something horrendous. Starvation, plague, violence, cannibalism. Levi’s upbringing wasn’t something he’d wish on anyone but for a select few. It wasn’t as if these brats, brought up in the cities topside, had it worse than he did.

Yet, this felt worse. At least Levi hadn’t spent his teenage years in an active war zone. The same couldn’t be said for these brats. Levi knew that of all the things he had experienced in his long life, nothing had made him feel so helpless as being trapped in a titan’s grip and guided towards its stinking mouth. 

Nothing had made him feel helpless like being unable to intervene as he watched others meet their end that same way.

Levi had registered to the military when he was 15. At 18, he chose the Survey Corps. It had taken him _years_ to truly adjust to the horrors of that job, even after all the shit he had seen. The poor brats in that dining hall probably had whiplash like Levi couldn’t imagine.

As he waited for Hange, memories plagued Levi. Sasha had been 12 when the whole fiasco with the potato had gone down. Of course it did. She was _12_. She didn’t know any better. Levi damn near winced remembering the way he had told off Reiner for asking him about shaving. He was the first cadet to have facial hair sprout (another sign Levi had missed, dammit). Who else was the kid supposed to ask? Granted, Erwin would have probably been nicer, but the brats had far more contact with Levi.

Krista’s meekness seemed far more acceptable with this new information in place. So did Jean’s tendencies towards violence, and Connie’s lack of cleanliness. Levi thought of Mikasa. The girl had mastered ODM gear at the age of 12. If Mikasa was eye-catching before, now she was enthralling. Though Erwin and Hange had suggested it repeatedly, Levi had never seriously considered taking on a personal student. With this new information in mind, he might just have to reconsider. If Mikasa was 15 instead of the 18 or 19 he had envisioned, then it would be contemptible not to utilize the last three years of her youth. Who knew what Mikasa could become?

Levi’s first thoughts of Arlert were of the stories he had received second-hand. Pyxis’s account of the boy pleading Eren’s case to a fleet of terrified and heavily armed soldiers. Jean’s overly-vague report of Armin tied to a chair, squirming as he was felt up. Erwin’s nearly-stunned explanation of Armin’s incredible level-headedness. Quick thinking, dedication, steadfastness––these qualities _lived_ in Arlert’s skin. Levi had seen it for himself. He had watched Armin work at top gear as the Survey Corps’ unofficial strategist-in-chief. He remembered the first time Erwin had handed command over to Armin. They had been mid-battle against an inscrutable enemy with countless lives, invaluable intelligence, and two-thirds of humanity’s territory on the line. Erwin had instructed every soldier on the wall to defer to Armin, while doing the very same himself. The kid had looked overwhelmed for a split-second before stomaching unthinkable pressure and facing his comrades and superiors bravely. He had practically been surrounded as they demanded his orders, ideas, breakthroughs; anything they could get their hands on. 

The incredible tactical form Armin had demonstrated there only improved with every expedition. Armin had gotten them through genuine worst-case-scenarios and Levi found himself struggling to reconcile their reliable, unshakable powerhouse of of a strategist with a 15 year old child. Truly, if Levi was going to apprentice Mikasa, then Erwin would have to apprentice Armin. Levi could hardly imagine his tactical value given just the smallest amounts of fine tuning.

Though Levi had tried to avoid it, his thoughts eventually drifted to Eren. Though he lacked the natural blinding talent that his best friends possessed, he had a passion that Levi could scarcely understand, and a titan ability to showcase it. Similar to Arlert, Levi loathed to think the kind of pressure Eren had been under. To be frank, Arlert and Ackerman were probably the sole reasons Eren wasn’t crippled under the raw weight handed to him. When Eren was collapsed on the ground, surrounded by canons and twitchy soldiers, Mikasa was a hairsbreadth away from pulling Eren to safety, while Armin ran from the cover of the smoke and tried to talk them to safety. In fact, Levi was positive that the Survey Corps wouldn’t have gotten their hands on Armin or Mikasa if not for their blinding devotion to Eren. And when Eren was stripped of their support…

Levi was struck with memories from the courthouse. Eren chained to the ground on his knees as he was bargained over as property. Eren absolutely helpless as Levi beat the shit out of him. Eren partially fused to a defective titan corpse in the middle of some goddamn field, terrified and confused as the soldiers meant to protect him screamed threats and demands. The brat was downright pathetic without his friends, but with them… Levi remembered Eren shouldering the burden of retaking wall Rose, Armin’s watchful eyes and Mikasa’s diligence backing him up. They made a scary team. 

Hange showed up later that night with the uneaten slice of cake and a pitcher of beer. They didn’t end up much discussing anything. Instead, Hange slumped next to Levi against the foot of his bed and passed him the pitcher.


	2. Hindsight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a lil fluff.

The next morning, Levi had all but repressed the revelations of the previous evening. As much as it enraged him, these cadets were still the exact same cadets he had been working with for months. They had more than proven themselves capability, and learning that they were severely underage for military work did not change the fact that there was work to be done. 

As Levi walked past the barracks, relaxed voices flitted through the window slats. The brats were  _ definitely _ supposed to be up and about by now. He stalked towards the door and prepared a reprimand about staying up late when he actually caught wind of the conversation.

“...do you think today’s legs mean? Snow?”

“No, I’d say the way his torso is facing says that we’ll have clear skies.”

“Call it hail. You guys are gonna be late for roll call. Get up, Bertholdt.”

Discombobulated grumbling followed. “R’n’r?”

“Yeah, Bertholdt. Let’s go. Annie grabbed you breakfast.”

“His growth spurt isn’t letting up.” That was Leonhart’s voice, low and muted and toned with a hint of caring. “He’s just going to get more and more tired.”

“We’re gonna have to figure something out, or he really won’t make it to his eighteenth birthday.”

“You talk like I was joking about that. He really will get eaten if we can’t figure out how to sneak him opportunities to nap.”

That was enough. Levi retreated. No one would notice if Bertholdt’s before-bed cleaning assignments were a little lighter than usual. In the mean time, he needed to figure out a way to adjust their scheduling. There was no way these brats were at top performance if they were meant to be getting another hour of rest every night.

With Levi’s luck, of course disaster struck just days later. A bloodcurdling cry in the middle of the night had him shooting to his feet and reaching for his gear before he even realized he was awake.  _ Sasha _ . Another scream rang through the air. Levi opted to throw his window open and slide down the wall. He hit the ground running. Were there titans awake at night? Had the military police come to seize Eren? Levi couldn’t get a visual on either. Where was the chaos? The brats were supposed to be in bed, but Walls knew they were agents of insubordination, and if there was no active threat invading, then the chances that Sasha was in the barracks were low.

A light flickered on in the barracks and chatter rose. 

“I’ll get Hange,” someone said sternly over the chaos. Just as Levi got to the barrack door, Cadet Fritz threw it open and stopped in her tracks.

“Captain Levi!”

Levi moved past her and strode into the sleeping quarters. By now, several candles were lit and he could see clearly that every cadet was awake. His eyes quickly landed on Sasha, sat on the ground in a heap, her hands held out in front of her and absolutely soaked in blood. Levi’s heart stuttered in his chest. Connie was knelt next to here, rubbing her forearms soothingly and murmuring reassurances. Levi only registered the tears and blood. He shoved past the other cadets and dropped into a crouch in front of Sasha, already pulling off his cape and bundling it up.

“Where’s the wound? Is there anything still embedded?” Levi snatched a candle from Jean to get a better look.

Eren’s expression tightened. “Captain, I really don’t think–”

Levi’s eyes widened. The blood was seeping from the crotch of Sasha’s pants. He slowly lifted his gaze to meet Sasha’s eyes.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

Eventually, Fritz returned with Hange. The squad leader guided a shaky Sasha from the barracks all the way to her quarters, presumably to get the cadet cleaned up and to supply her with cotton rounds. Springer immediately got to work cleaning up Sasha’s sleeping space, dragging the ruined sheets and sleeping pad outside to rinse out. The moment he was finished, he disappeared to run Sasha some fresh clothing. Springer, Hange, and Sasha returned to the barracks soon after in good spirits and everyone called it a night.

Perhaps Levi was being generous, but the whole ordeal had seemed more or less endearing. Still. Erwin was going to get a fucking earful when he got back. Levi had not signed up for this shit. 

One in the morning found Levi slumped at the small table pushed against the wall of Hange’s quarters. He was far to frazzled to fall back asleep, and Hange’s interest in rest had surrendered to Eren’s latest bloodwork. Despite her seeming engrossment in her work, Hange still had the presence of mind to grill Levi about his “overreact,” as she referred to it as.

“I thought she was dying!” Levi growled. How was  _ he _ considered the idiot in this situation? “All of this because the brat didn’t know what menstruation was.”

“Oh, give her a break, Levi,” Hange chided distractedly as she switched out the slides in her microscope. “She grew up rural and without any other girls. Who was supposed to tell her?”

Levi slammed his palm down on the table’s surface. “The damn sex-ed classes in basic training!”

Hange snorted. “Erwin cut those out, too.” Levi stared.

“You lowered the recruitment age to 12 and cut out sex-ed? Are you insane?”

Hange pointed a slide at Levi. “I said  _ Erwin _ . Take it up with him. But to be fair to him, if a few recruits not expecting menstruation is the only deficit, cutting out that class is probably well worth the budget space.”

That was true, Levi mused. It wasn’t as if the cadets were screwing each other. Strangely, they were too responsible for that.

As if reading his thoughts, Hange said, “And besides, I think Eren’s given them all the safe sex talk at least twice. His father was a doctor, you know.”

Levi did know. It didn’t make him feel any better. What kind of teenagers refrained from sex like that? It wasn’t  _ normal _ . They shouldn’t have to act that responsibly. Worse yet was if this was less due to responsibility and more because the teenagers were so screwed up that sex wasn’t even appealing anymore. The Survey Corps was easily the most physically and psychologically taxing job humanity had to offer. What kind of havoc could the trauma of expeditions wreak on their young minds? Was this just one more symptom of irreparable psychological damage? Or perhaps the job was simply too demanding to leave room for–

“You’re worried about them.” Hange commented, forcing Levi to refocus. He sneered instinctively, trying to exude waves of uncaring. Judging by Hange’s increasingly amused smile, it wasn’t working. Eventually, Hange looked away from him and went back to her slides. “It’s okay. You don’t have to say anything. I worry too.”

Levi watched Hange from the corner of his eye. She cared about them a lot. If Levi hadn’t noticed it before, it would have been impossible to miss in the barracks just a few hours prior.

Erwin knew something was amiss the moment he stepped foot in the castle. He had certainly arrived back later in the night, but the castle was absolutely barren. He checked his watch. 21:30. Lights out wasn’t for another hour and Levi always had the cadets cleaning and doing chores from dinner until 22:00. And even then, the  _ insubordinate brats _ , as Levi affectionately called them, would have been up for another half hour at the least while the older squadron members tried to wrangle them into bed. But worse than that, Erwin eyed some crumbs sprinkled in the corner, where the cadets liked to play cards. They were only detectable when Erwin tilted his head just so. No normal person would ever recognize them as a mess.

Erwin was overcome with the fear that something terrible had happened to Levi.

He dropped his bags at the entryway, raced back outside to his horse, and pulled the ODM gear off its rear. Gunther, who had accompanied him into the city, didn’t miss the borderline frantic behavior.

“What’s happened?” he asked, already pulling on his own ODM gear.

“The main floor is deserted and there’s dirt.”

The blood drained from Gunther’s face as he buckled his sternum piece. “Is it possible that a message from Levi was intercepted?” 

Erwin frowned. There was nothing else amiss but for those two very obvious signs. Something had to be wrong, but there wasn’t enough information. The Military Police didn’t have enough tact for there to be this little sign of struggle, but it certainly wasn’t titans who had attacked this place.

“It’s possible. My bets are on the MPs. Go find the others; let them know what happened and tell them to prepare to get to the safe house. No visuals on Levi-squad or Hange-squad, and no visuals on threat. I’m going to clear out the castle.”

Gunther grit his teeth. “Sir, it could be a trap. If they’ve cleaned up that well–”

“They can’t kill me. Too much of a political mess. But if they get their hands on Eren, it won’t be easy to get him back. Inform the others.”

With a reluctant nod of affirmation, Gunther kicked his horse and steered it north. Erwin grit his teeth and primed his blades. He didn’t know what he’d find in that castle, but he sure as hell wasn’t going in unprepared.

Curiously, the rear half of the ground level was completely clean.  _ Levi _ clean. So they had been interrupted. They must have been. Dread worked its way into Erwin’s gut as he approached the barracks wing. Where all the cadets slept. Erwin crept forwards to push open the door when a presence apparated at his side.

“I wouldn’t do that,” Levi said quietly. “The brats are asleep.”

Erwin allowed himself a beat to get his pounding heart under control.

“Damn you, Levi. You had me worked up for nothing. I sent Gunther off with an emergency message because you decided to move the schedule forward an hour? I thought you hated leaving the living quarters uncleaned at nightfall.”

“The schedule hasn’t been moved forward at all. The brats are still waking up at 6, no earlier, no later.”

Erwin was nearly dumbstruck. “An extra hour of sleep? That’s...extremely generous, and likely more generous than we can afford. Did something happen?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact…” Levi looked at him in a way that made him feel as if he was being court marshalled. The smaller man stared Erwin down for a few long seconds before speaking again. “Hoover’s birthday was celebrated while you were away.”

It took just a second to click, and then–

_ I prayed this day would never come. _


End file.
